Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item :http://hdl.handle.net/2066/143476

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Subject:

Centre for Contemporary European Philosophy (CCEP)

Organization:

Leerstoel Praktische filosofie

Abstract:

Sources of Meaning in the West is the account of an attempt to get to
the bottom of two patterns of meaning-giving that have set their stamp
on Western life: the warrior ethos and Christianity.
An unavoidable problem serves as the guiding principle in the
investigation. In order to give meaning to our lives, we need others to
convince us of the existence of a world worthy of dedication –
something they can only do when they have faith in tradition. But
tradition also charges life with promises it cannot fulfil. Patterns of
meaning-giving are compared as answers to this problem.
The warrior ethos is characterized by a rejection of dependence on
tradition, by a desire for something completely different, and an
unreasonable belief in the power of passion or reason. The Christian
faith, too, promises something more certain than tradition has to offer,
but at the same time it considers man, as formed by tradition, to be
worthy of salvation. As long as we embrace the warrior ethos, the
author maintains, we will not be able to grasp the pattern of Christian
meaning-giving, or to judge it according to its merits. The journey of
exploration, in the course of which we meet many thinkers, wellknown
and less well-known (e.g. Maurice Blondel), opens new
perspectives for philosophical apologetics.
Sources of Meaning in the West offers a surprising and confronting
culture criticism, that helps us to recognize typically Western reflexes
in our thinking and our lives. Why are we so prone to think that other
things are more important than realising a life that encourages people to
have faith in what they can achieve and be as human beings?